Elevated railway



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No. 402,319. Patented Apr. .30, 1889.

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. I ELEVATED RAILWAY. No. 402,319. Patented Apr.,30, 1889,.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFONSO D. GATES, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

E L EVAT E D RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 402,319, dated April30, 1889.

Application filed January 16, 1889. Serial No. 296,514. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern: I

Be it known that I, ALFONSO D. GATES, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Elevated Railways, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to elevated railways,

and is, designed to give momentum to cars view of brake mechanism; Fig.5, an elevaworking in the vertical guides B, secured to the main frameA, and supporting on their upper surfaces the axes O of the rollers C,over which travels the platform D. From this platform the car E maydepend by means of hangers E, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, or the carmay be placed upon the top of said platform, as shown in Fig. 6. Iprefer to build the car on the top of the running platform D. -If thecar depends from the platform D, the hangers E are'plaoed with referenceto the length of the car so as to preserve its equilibrium. The hangersare provided with springs e at their lower extremity to modify any jararising from the motion of the car, and also have guiding-rollers F, asdescribed hereinafter.

The short girders B, provided with the rollers G, are placed atintervals along the main frame Ain such a manner that the platform Dwill always be supported by two of the roll ers on each side of theplatform. Stops c are placed upon the upper surface of the girders Btolimit the movement of the roller-axes c, the length of this run beingsuch a proportion to the length of the platform D that the axes 0' willtraverse the distance between the stops 0 while the platform D istraveling over the periphery of the roller O. The diameters of the axesand rollers are also proportioned accordingly. Any suitable proportionsfor this purpose may be used. Forinstance, the plat form D being sixtyfeet, the run on the girder between the stops 0 may be five feet, andthe diameter of the axes and rollers, respectively, two inches andtwenty-four inches. I con sider the proportions given as practical asany other.

One end of the girder B rests upon a support, a hereinafter to bedescribed, and the opposite end rests upon a spring, 19, substantiallyas shown in Fig. 6. As the platform D comes upon the roller 0, theweight of the car will depress that end of the girder B which rests uponthe spring 12 to a level with the opposite end. When the girder isrelieved of the weight upon it, the spring will raise its end of thegirder slightly above the opposite end, and thus throw the roller 0 backto its starting-point, ready for the next oncoming car.

. In Fig. 2 is shown a further means for tilting the girders B. Thismeans consists in the shaft to, carrying eccentric a which plays underthe girder-planes B, giving these an inclination when the eccentrics areraised to the end of their throw. The shaft a is supported in bearings aon the stringers of the frame A. On the eccentric-shaft a are keyedlarge wheels a having projections a on one-half of their periphery.Similar projections on the rear portion of the car engage, theprojections on the wheels a and turn the eccentric shaft a and eccentrica when the projections on the car reach the projections onsaid wheels.In case the car is suspended from the platform D and the engagingprojections are placed on the top of the car, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3,the eccentric will be to the front of the shaft a, as shown. Theengaging. projections a may, however, be placed on the under side of theplatform D, whether the car depends from it or be placed on top of it,in which case the eccentrics would be on the opposite side of the shafta from that shown in the drawings. Counter-weights a on the wheels awill return them to their former position and bring back the eccentrics,while the springs b will restore the girders B to the position shown inFig. 5; or other means-such as weights-may be used to restore saidgirders to their position of rest when relieved of the weight of thecar, or all these means may be combined for this purpose.

The girder X at the left of Fig. 1 shows the position of the girders asthe platform D leaves them before regaining their original position,while the girder y at the right of the figure shows their positionbefore being reached by the car-supporting platform.

To secure the position of the eccentrics a under the girders B, cleatsare secured to the under side of the latter, it may be on each side ofthe said eccentrics, so that the latter work between them, or a singlesuch cleat may work in a groove in the eccentric, as shown, Figs. 2 and6, and thereby maintain the girders in proper relation to theeccentrics, which latter are secured to the shaft upon which they aremounted between fixed collars, so that they can have no lateral movementupon the shaft, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

A form of brake attachment is shown at E supported on the hangers E andWorked by the rope e, drum c and worm and wheel a operated from withinthe car by a hand-wheel and gear, e as shown in Fig. 1. The brakeshoes 6always remain in the horizontal position and have their bearing upon thelongitudinal stringers E on the main frame A.

Rollers F upon the hangers E traverse the inside surfaces of thestringers E and serve to guide the car in its movement, while aknuckle-joint, G, on the hanger prevents jar to the car at starting andstopping.

It will be observed that motive power for propelling the car-supportingplatform D may be applied by various means. hat I consider the mostpractical means of propulsion is that of a cable operating either aboveor below the platform D.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An elevated railway consisting of the supporting-pillars A, the mainframe A, the girders B, provided with stops 0 and means for tilting saidgirders, the rollers O, and the platform D, substantially as shown.

2. In an elevated railway, the combination of the car-supportingplatform D, the rollers C, the girders B, and means for tilting saidgirders, substantially as shown.

3. In an elevated railway, the platform D and the car E, suspended byand moving with said platform, in combination with girders adapted to betilted within certain limits, and rollers 0, adapted to move upon saidgirders within certain limits with the movement of the car,substantially as described, for the purpose stated.

4:. In an elevated railway, the girders supported at intervals adaptedfor independent tilting movement within and on each side of thesupporting structure, and provided on their upper surfaces with thefixed stops 0 0, near each end thereof, in combination with the rollers0, having their axis resting and rolling upon said girders between saidstops, the platform D, supported upon said rollers, and the carsuspended from said platform below said girders, substantially asdescribed, for the purpose specified.

5. In an elevated railway, the platform D and the car E, suspended byand moving with said platform, in combination with girders B, supportedat intervals and adapted for independent tilting movement within and oneach side of the supporting structure, the rollers 0, adapted to have alimited movement upon the said girders, and wheels a, supported by saidstructure and provided with means for engaging the car, substantially asdescribed, for the purpose specified.

6. In an elevated railway, the combination of the platform D, the car E,suspended thereby and provided with projections e, the girders B,mountedfor independent tilting movement, the rollers 0, adapted to have arolling movement between stops on said girders, and the wheels a havingprojections 01, upon a portion of the circumference adapted to engagewith the said car projections, in the manner and for the purpose stated.

7. In an elevated railway, a car-supporting platform propelled uponrollers G and means for returning said rollers, substantially as shown.

8. In an elevated railway, the platform and the car suspended thereby,and means, substantially as described, for supporting said platform,consisting of the girders B, adapted to have independent tiltingmovement, the rollers C, adapted to have limited movement upon saidgirders in carrying the car forward, and means for returning saidrollers to their starting-point, consisting of the spring b, substantially as described, for the purpose stated.

9. In an elevated railway, the combination, with a car and a platformwhich supports and carries the same in suspended relation thereto, ofgirders B at intervals in the superstructure and adapted to haveindependent tilting movements within certain limits, and provided withrollers 0, adapted to support said platform, to roll upon said girders,and to be returned by gravity upon said girders to the starting-point,substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

10. In an elevated railway, the combination, with a car, a platformcarrying and movingwith said car in suspended relation thereto, and therollers O, for supporting said plating the latter, a car suspended fromsaid platform, with a brake suspended from the latter, consisting of theknee-joint and brakeshoe, the fixed frame-stringer part E, and means,substantially as described, for connecting saidknee-joint with operatingdevices of the car, substantially as described, for the purposespecified.

ALFONSO D. GATES.

Attest:

WILLIAM G. GATES, JOHN HAPPINGER.

